Venture Capital · Profile from Venture Capital Research Companion
Eclipse Ventures (Eclipse)
The Palo Alto firm, spun out of Formation 8 in 2015 by former Flex executive Lior Susan, that bet early and almost exclusively on "physical industries" (semiconductors, robotics, manufacturing, logistics, energy and autonomy). It pairs venture funds with an in-house company-building practice and growth funds sized for capital-heavy hardware, and its early position in Cerebras became one of the defining hardware outcomes of the AI cycle.
At a glance
- Founded
- 2015, Palo Alto, California (spun out of Formation 8's hardware practice)
- Founders
- Lior Susan (founder and managing partner, later styled founder and CEO of the firm)
- Headquarters
- Palo Alto, California; partners also in San Francisco and Israel-linked networks
- Ownership / structure
- Private partnership; early-stage funds (Fund I–VI), growth vehicles (Continuity / Early Growth Funds I–III) and an incubation practice that co-founds companies
- Leadership (2026)
- Lior Susan (founder); partners including Greg Reichow (ex-Tesla VP of Production), Seth Winterroth, Justin Butler, Jiten Behl (ex-Rivian) and Aidan Madigan-Curtis (verify current roster and titles); Pierre Lamond (National Semiconductor co-founder, ex-Sequoia) was an early partner
- AUM / capital raised
- ~$10bn AUM as stated by the firm in April 2026 (includes unrealised gains); latest raise $1.3bn in April 2026 (Fund VI $720m + Early Growth Fund III $591m)
- Stage focus
- Seed to Series B through the main funds; growth and "continuity" capital for portfolio companies scaling manufacturing; incubations co-founded with operators
- Signature investments
- Cerebras (IPO May 2026), Wayve, Augury, 6 River Systems (sold to Shopify), Redwood Materials, Bright Machines, Mytra, Bedrock Robotics, Tenstorrent, Enovix, Reliable Robotics, Anduril and Verkada (later-stage, verify); failures and setbacks: Lucira Health (bankrupt 2023), Owlet (SPAC drawdown), Bright Machines' abandoned SPAC
9 deals and moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2016
Cerebras
Series A
2017
Augury
Series B
2018
6 River Systems
Series B
2018
Bright Machines
Series A Incubation
2019
Lucira Health
Series B
2019
Wayve
Series A
2022
Mytra
Incubation and Early Rounds
2025
Bedrock Robotics
Seed and Series A
2025
Redwood Materials
Series E